Devil Summoner: Up in Smoke
by superhiki
Summary: Raidou's got a terrible habit. A brief investigation into what the summoner ponders at school during a horrible cigarette craving. NaruRai if you're wearing slash goggles.


As much as he didn't like missing school for long periods of time Raidou was going to stop showing up if everyday was going to be like this. His fingers were shaking with all over tremors, a cold sweat dotting his back and forehead, his guts in knots with nausea, and an incredible need to smoke. He would have done anything for a cigarette then and it was the only thing he could think about. The morning was fine, even during their class break Raidou was feeling alright enough to review his textbook readings before class started again, but half way through the second part of the day he caught himself thinking about a curl of smoke slithering around in the air, how pretty that translucent ribbon could be as it wound about his fingers, and was hooked. From then on he was counting down the minutes till his lips could wrap around one of those rolled up pieces of paper again and breathe in the nicotine he craved horribly. Specifically when Narumi would allow him to bum off yet another cigarette.

Narumi.

Just thinking about that man made Raidou's head pound harder, pinching the bridge of the nose did nothing to comfort him when that detective was on the brain. On a better day Raidou may not have blamed the man for his dependance on cigarettes but right now he was seething under his stoic exterior at the thought of Narumi smirking with a cigarette pinched between his straight teeth, beckoning Raidou closer with a half-full carton, and asking in that all-too-smooth voice '_Want a smoke, kid?'_

Of course he wanted a smoke, Raidou was dying for one. Did his own mind have to ask? He hated having to submit to the cravings and found solace in anti-minds, but in its own right that too could be an addiction if he weren't careful, even if it was only as a means to avoid the lingering ache for tobacco smoke. At least when he had a steady supply he was in his right mind, but being young meant he was just barely a step ahead of the inevitable loss of lung function, and eventually it was going to catch up with him and pack quite the punch to his summoning abilities. In a way that pissed him off as well, the thought that he was wrapped around nicotine's finger and just waiting for the hammer to fall.

Raidou eyed the sun outside the window from his desk, wondering where it would fall in the sky when school let out, but found that the light only further irritated his headache and forced the summoner to look away. He managed to go unnoticed all class, avoiding getting called on by his professor, and upon the pleasant bell signaling the end of the school day, Raidou stood and shuffled out of class without hesitating for small talk with his peers. Down the hall, down the stairs, out of the front gate he nearly bolted, actually picking up the pace when he caught sight of his mentor, Gouto-Douji. It about made his head explode to break out into a jog like that and it was obvious to anyone who knew him from the slight crease in his brow. The cursed feline knew the intricacies of the young man's subtle way of expressing himself and knew the quiet young man was all knotted up over a long school day without a cigarette.

"Don't trip over your bottom lip, Jouhei," he remarked, using the summoner's real name in order to get his attention and assert himself as the other's superior, thumb-less or not. As they began their journey home together, almost running, Gouto still found the breath to criticize the young man. "You're a great summoner, but you're just a dumb kid when you get yourself wrapped up in that detective's sorry vices." He, of course, was talking about Raidou's more than obvious dependance on Narumi's cigarettes. It had been a few months now since the detective offered him a smoke after a particularly close call, hoping to ease over Raidou's nerves, but the unspoken side affects were taking all the fun out of smoking for the summoner.

"I'm not a child," Raidou said too flatly to _not_ be pissed.

Gouto huffed, his green eyes narrowing up at the young man, "Yeah yeah, just because you smell like a bar doesn't make you old enough to drink there."

Raidou said nothing in return, his lips pursed shut tightly to say he was done talking about it, but the cat only laughed and would have shook his head were they not trying to catch up to a railcar before it left one of its street stations. "You know, if that dead loss had an appreciation for all the work you do he'd have never got you wrapped up in all that smoking nonsense," Gouto chided, to which Raidou considered his mentor's own irritation came from the fact a cat couldn't smoke. As they bounded up to the trolly, Raidou offering money from his uniform pocket to cover his fair, Gouto wove between his foot steps to sneak on under the conductor's nose, slipping between Raidou and the wall of the car as the summoner sat down. Their ride was free of conversation but there was enough noise to keep Raidou's head pounding at a ferocious beat. He kept his head bowed and eyes squeezed shut, only opening them to make sure they hadn't missed their stop. The ride took longer than usual if only because Raidou was in one hell of a rush to get to the office and right himself with a smoke.

Finally, after too long of a ride, they arrived at their stop and within seconds Raidou was off and on his way to Tsukudo-cho, already imagining that damn detective lounging at his desk, sucking on a cigarette like a tick while Raidou's stomach churned withdrawal-nausea. He didn't hear Gouto spit out the word "Pitiful" as he clamored into the smokey office, haphazardly tossing his bag down at the door when he caught sight of the detective leaning against the window frame, cigarette in hand as he let most of the spare smoke slip out the open window. Gouto wasn't going to watch as his student made a fool of himself, walking silently towards the detective with pleading eyes, completely at the mercy of nicotine.

Narumi turned just a little to smile at the summoner as he came walking across the room, pulling out a carton of cigarettes to grab one for the young man, reading that hallowed out look in his eyes as if the other were a man crossing the desert for water.

"Want a smoke, kid?" he asked too smoothly. Narumi lit the end of Raidou's with the cherry of his own half smoked cigarette and gave Raidou's a light drag to get the end lit properly before handing it off just as the young man came to rest on the opposite side of the window frame. Raidou didn't snatch it out of Narumi's hand but he didn't hesitate to take a long, deep drag from it, the soft sound of crinkling paper the only sound before Raidou let out a desperate, long sigh of relief, feeling instantly at ease when he got his fix. Looking up at his savior, Raidou almost smiled at the detective who was staring back at him through the haze of smoke between them.

Narumi rolled his eyes at the other before settling his gaze out the window and speaking "What's that look for?" he smiled, taking another drag, "I gave you a cigarette, not a diamond ring."


End file.
